DOCUMENTATION inCOUNSELING RECORDS

THIRD EDITION

DOinCUMENTATION COUNSELING RECORDS

An Overview of Ethical, Legal, and Clinical Issues

Robert W. Mitchell, ACSW

AMERICAN COUNSELING ASSOCIATION 5999 Stevenson Avenue Alexandria, VA 22304

THIRD EDITION

DOCUMENTATION in COUNSELING RECORDS

An Overview of Ethical, Legal, and Clinical Issues

Copyright ? 2007 by the American Counseling Association. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. Except as permitted under the United States Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the written permission of the publisher.

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

AMERICAN COUNSELING ASSOCIATION 5999 Stevenson Avenue, Alexandria, VA 22304

DIRECTOR OF PUBLICATIONS Carolyn C. Baker

PRODUCTION MANAGER Bonny E. Gaston

COPY EDITOR Christine Calorusso

EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Catherine A. Brumley

Cover and text design by Bonny E. Gaston.

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA Mitchell, Robert, 1937?

Documentaltion in counseling records: an overview of ethical, legal, and clinical issues/by Robert, Mitchell.--3rd ed.

p. cm. Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 13: 978-1-55620-273-5 (alk. paper) ISBN 10: 1-55620-273-3 (alk. paper) 1. Mental health counseling. 2. Psychiatric social work. 3. Medical records-- Law and legislation. I. American Counseling Association. II. Title. [DNLM: 1. Medical History Taking--methods--United States--Legislation. 2. Counseling--United States--Legislation. 3. Ethics, Professional--United States--Legislation. 4. Medical Records--United States--Legislation. WB 290 M681d 2006]

RC466.M57 2006 362.2'04256--dc22

2006027652

Dedication

This book is for every person who ever tried to help someone. Each of you makes a difference.

You always have and you always will.

Contents

Preface

ix

About the Author

xv

Special Thanks

xix

Glossary

xxi

CHAPTER 1

Ethical Behavior, Values, and Professional Standards 1

Ethical Conduct

1

Enforceable and Aspirational Guidelines

5

CHAPTER 2

A Legal Perspective

9

Credentials

10

Charting Essentials

10

Testimony and Documentation

12

Missing and Incomplete Entries

16

Altered Documentation

16

The Record as Legal Defense

17

Eight Ways to Guarantee a Lawsuit or

Allegations of Unethical Conduct

18

CHAPTER 3

A Fiscal Perspective

19

What Not to Do

21

What You Must Do

21

Essential Elements for the Staff Note

23

Guidelines for Ethical Billing

25

v

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